Nothing but a mere touch
by Maver1ck
Summary: Knuckles forces Tails to participate in a bet in which, he can only lose. The bet involves a certain purple bird that seems to have caught the attention of the kitsune.
1. Chapter 1

**A disastrous bet.**

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Welcome everybody to my first published story!

After months of reading, writing, polishing, failing (and failing again whatsoever), my first story has been finally published. I have the urgency to say that the reward of seeing my profile not empty anymore really puts an smile on my face, and I'm pretty sure this won't be the last story I will write in this, my very incipient career as a fan-fiction writer.

It is also my desire to express that, despite the amount of time it took me to finish this first chapter, it won't take long until we see the next one. I'm still learning how to manage my time more efficiently, but you can expect to see the second chapter to be available next month.

Without further ado, enjoy the story and leave your reviews!

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The heat of the afternoon was merciless that day upon Splash Canyon. The place, known by many for its monumental waterfalls of undisputed beauty, and by many others for being the home of competitions of questionable legality and the shelter for the wanted criminal, was that day visitde by two strange individuals of distinctive appearance.

In that place, hidden by the abundant vegetation and the rocky formations that were so prevalent in the Canyon, they were resting two animals.

The first one was a red echidna. He was endowed with a scarlet red fur, and with a menacing and proud glance that spoke about a simple yet fighting spirit.

The second one was a fox. He was significantly shorter, with yellow fur and two tails that stood out his figure. His glance denoted still a certain degree of innocence and over-confidence. Proper attributes for an inexperienced young.

Both creatures had decided to repose under the protection of a shadow projected by the abundant flora. The rocks were their improvised seats. At some point, the red creature got up and took a close look at the landscape, after a brief moment of introspection, he asked with a tone that clearly denoted impatience:

_"Tails, are you sure this is the place? I can't remember since what time are we waiting..."_

_"Since at least 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 36 seconds to be exact!"_ Said the yellow fox with irony and precision, after taking a look at his wristwatch.

_"Tails, I'm being serious! We have been waiting for him for way too long, don't you think he could be in trouble?!"_ The echidna replied with a noticeable anxiety.

_"You know Sonic distracts very easily..."_

_"He could be in danger!"_

_"Knuckles, he has a communicator! If he was in danger we would know already! We must keep waiting. He can't take him much longer..."_

Knuckles, the echidna, took a deep breath. He closed his fists, he closed his eyes. He then proceeded to accept the futility of his demand, and with a noticeable expression of displeasure, he came back to his seat.

For a brief period of time, there wasn't anything but the complete silence between both of them, leaving the waterfalls of Splash Canyon to continue with their unceasing symphony.

Suddenly, a strange sound started to be heard approaching in the distance.

Tails raised an ear. He tried to decipher its origin, he then proceeded to get up in order to to perceive the sound more clearly. His echidna friend, was looking at him baffled.

_"What's happening?"_

Tails took a moment to respond. He was truly unsure what exactly was approaching.

_"Someone comes..."_ Said the yellow fox.

_"Someone? What do you mean?"_ Inquired the echidna.

_"Whoever's coming, he's riding a extreme gear, and he's coming dangerously close to our position…"_

_"Do you think it could be Sonic?"_

_"No, his gear it's way more strident and noisy. Whoever it's coming has a gear way more advanced than Sonic."_ Tails said with a small yet perceptible worry.

For an eternity that lasted a second, the red echidna considered the situation. He saw no reason to worry much, since it was just an individual. Nor did he saw the need to take any risk, since an individual with such technology could easily be a threat.

_"We better hide, it could be one of Eggman's minions."_

The yellow fox nodded. They both proceeded to collect each of their belongings, and hurried to leave no trace of their presence. They hid in the depths of the vegetation waiting for what would imminently come.

The noise, cold, sharp, artificial, was indeed coming from a gear. And just like the fox predicted, it wasn't a mere piece of bolts and steel: The gear was a mechanical marvel. What neither of them expected was its occupant.

The gear brought with it a bird. It was purple, with a delicate and slender figure. Very feminine and graceful.

Tails, still expectant, shuddered for a moment. He perfectly knew who she was.

The bird, still on her gear, proceeded to perform a complex stunt play throughout the canyon; Leaving behind her path a trail of lights over the water and the landscape that spoke about the tender memories of a life without obligations.

Satisfied with the results, the bird stopped for a moment. She then proceeded to take a rest under a palm tree, and without contemplations, she devoted herself to sleep.

The silence among Tails and Knuckles was absolute. Their breathing was the only thing they were hearing.

Such quiet, however, didn't last for too long, and with a whispering voice the yellow fox pronounced a name: _" Wave..! "_

His friend look him intrigued for a moment; Was the echidna missing something? His curiosity forced him to ask:

_"Do you actually know her name?"_

_"Y-yes! She is the mechanic of Team Babylon, remember? I competed with her several times. She's like… The best of her kind!"_

Tails responded with a gentle, almost childish tone that wasn't far from being annoying. Something completely out of character for him, at least, while he was in front of the echidna. The expression on his face was also quite different to the normal; With his eyes reflecting an unusual amount of light, and his mouth trying to hide his lips.

Suddenly, the red creature had an entire new interest in mind, to which he said with a small grin in his face:

_"Oh, really? Care to tell me more?"_

The yellow fox, completely unaware of what the future could hold for him for displaying his own honesty in front of his friend, answered.

For more than 15 minutes, the only thing he spoke about was about Wave the swallow; She was a mechanic, a rider, a thief! And for him, maybe even a little more. Something Knuckles didn't take too long to realize, as he was playing with the fox's innocence.

When Tails finally concluded, his friend smiled for a moment. He took a few steps closer to him. He then put a hand on one of his shoulders, and with a very condescending tone he said:

_"It seems to me that you really know a lot about her... And by far, she doesn't seem to respect you."_

_"Y-yes! That's correct..." _The swallow was known for giving hell to her rivals, both inside the race and outside of it. The fox wasn't (by any means) an exception to the rule.

_"Wouldn't be great to give her a lesson? She's begging for it!"_

Tails didn't reply to this last question. Everything was happening way too fast for him to react.

Knuckles leaned his face towards Tails. He got so close that he could feel his breath; And with a grim tone he said:

"Tell me Tails... How much are you willing to bet you can catch that bird...?!"

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_**Next chapter:**_

**_Engaging the enemy: Tails faces the purple wind!_**


	2. Chapter 2

Engaging the enemy: Tails faces the purple wind!

Tails stood still for a moment. His mind was still trying to make sense of all of what was happening around him. No one. Not even the worst of his enemies had been capable of striking such fear in his heart before.

Suddenly, after he realized things weren't going to get any better by standing silent, the yellow fox stated with a mumbling tone that denoted his shame: "I can't do it!".

As Tails' cheeks were starting to blush vividly. Knuckles, on the other hand, was doing his best to contain his laugh.

"Oh, C'mon Tails, it isn't a magic trick or anything… Just go there, and steal her bandana! It doesn't take a genius like you to do the job." The echidna insisted. He was playing successfully with his friend's insecurities.

"I-I..." Tails couldn't finish a single word. The pressure was already too much for him.

All of a sudden, a sound coming from the direction where the swallow was resting, drew their attention. She was waking up, and with a strong and pronounced yawn that sounded way too manly for both Tails and Knuckles.

The purple bird was no longer resting. She was now stretching her muscles, as she was getting ready to leave the Canyon. The echidna, very aware of what was happening, thought for a moment about his bet, suddenly wasted just because his own fate wasn't kind enough to give him a fair chance to trick his friend. He couldn't accept it. What right did destiny had to deny him an innocent joke to an old friend? The echidna proceeded then to persuade his friend, now with a more aggressive approach.

"Well… Would you look at that? She seems to be waking up! I think you should hurry up, foxy-boy..!" He said with a quite evident irony.

"Oh Knuckles, cut it out!" Tails responded with the last grasp of common sense he had.

Soon after, she was gone. The bird abandoned her place of resting, with nothing but a purple wind and a few feathers to testify she was ever there. The fox grinned with a noticeable pleasure. The echidna however, wasn't pleased.

"You know Tails? I think we should drop this bet…" Said the red creature.

For a brief moment, the yellow fox felt the sweet relief of not being slave of his own impulses. The sole idea of anyone knowing about his most personal secret terrified him.

How Knuckles could be aware of that? He thought for a second.

Was Knuckles perhaps more intelligent that what he gave credit for? Was himself way too innocent to know when to keep his mouth own shut? No, it couldn't be! He thought to himself; Even if Knuckles knew about it, he could still disprove it, he was after all, the smart one.

"It's obvious you wouldn't have a chance with her anyways…" Said the echidna, bringing the fox back into reality. And with a smirk , he then proceeded to strike with a finishing blow.

"If I didn't know you, I may even say you are too afraid of hurting her..."

Tails felt a chilling cold down his spine after hearing these last words. His pupils dilated. His throat dried. His palms were sweaty. And with a mechanical agony, he proceeded to chase the purple swallow without making any complaint or sound.

The fox was now chasing the trail of a purple wind, in desperation.

He suddenly thought to himself, "What I'm doing?" "How could this be happening to me? "She has already way too much advantage, there's no way I can even catch her, I must come back!" But as soon as he started to re-think about his actions, his own fears started to come back to him.

"If I retreat, Knuckles will know. I can't give up. Not like this!" The die was cast.

He thought for a moment about his friend, Knuckles. Now turned into a bully because of a childish bet.

"Knuckles, you better believe you're going to pay for this..!" He said to himself, as he started to smell a strange feminine perfume. It was captivating, inviting;, pure.

And all of a sudden, she was there. Wave was riding her gear with a pretty smooth flying, and no discernable worries to blur her vision. The heart of the fox skipped a beat, as he saw the swallow suddenly that close to him.

Tails clenched his fists: "I can't let her escape!" He said loudly. To his own misfortune, as the swallow realized she was getting chased by a yellow fox with no self-awareness.

"S-Shorty?" She said, raising a brow. She couldn't understand what was even happening.

"You..! You won't get away..! I'm gonna... Stop you!" Tails was trying his best to sound threatening, yet he was failing miserably.

The swallow suddenly started smiling, as she saw nothing but punk trying to impress a girl: "Oh, I'm sorry… YOU are going to stop ME?" She was sassy, proud, courageous, and yet, she still liked the idea of playing a time along with the fox.

She then decided to slow down just a bit in order to have a deeper conversation side by side with the fox. What's the point of having enemies if you can't humiliate them from time to time?

"Oh, sorry to be so harsh! What brought you back to me, fox-boy? Haven't you had already enough with our last encounter? Are you perhaps asking for another beatdown?" Wave was playing the game she liked to play. A game of mockery that she was very well-known for.

The fox started to blush. This wasn't the first time he was the object of her insults, but they never felt more inopportune nor personal. This wasn't a race, after all.

"Listen, I'm not gonna try to explain you anything… Just give me your bandana, and I'll walk away..!" Said the fox, with a very obvious embarrassment.

The purple swallow was now perplex. What was this pervert even thinking about? "Excuse me?" She said, exhaling a subtle laugh out of her beak.

"Just… Give it to me!" Tails was now screaming in desperation. He wasn't even thinking anymore. The swallow, in disbelief, turned her back smoothly with a subtle change of position of her gear.

"Sorry, shrimp… But I prefer not to share my clothes with strangers. Especially with weirdos like yourself..!" Wave shouted while leaving her back in complete exposure.

"This can't be… This can't be happening... I must steal her bandana, there's no other way!" After all of this, Tails was still trying to process what was really happening.

One thing, however, was sure for him, whatever what was going to happen, it wasn't going to be good for any of them.

The fox, suddenly and without warning, stretched his arm in order to steal the bird's bandana, but to his own misfortune, his gear hit the edge of a boulder, making it jump just a second before he could reach her, and with a violent mishap that didn't last for more than a mili-second, he stripped her top. The swallow screamed terrorized. Her chest was now completely naked.

The bird proceeded then to cover her torso with her thin arms, she was crying, in humiliation, completely in disbelief of what did just happen. Tails was on the other hand, shocked. He couldn't believe he was capable of doing such harm to someone, especially, to someone like her. Wave only responded to this aggression by insulting him with all the names she could come out with, and disappearing with the sunset.

She was already too ashamed to do much else.

After losing complete sight of the swallow, the fox slowly decreased the speed of his gear until it finally stopped to move forward. He was standing in silence, waiting for an answer to his convulsive thoughts while the world around him was still spinning.

He suddenly heard the sound of another board approaching in the distance, it was Knuckles, and this time, with Sonic riding close to him.

"Tails, we heard a scream… What hap-" The echidna couldn't finish, his own laugh interrupted violently whatever question he had in mind, after seeing the fox clenching with anger the swallow's top with his left hand. Sonic followed closely after. Neither both of them cared much too much about finding any significant explanation about the incident, it was simply way too funny to be taken seriously. Knuckles looked at Tails, he was somehow proud of the fox for acquiring such trophy, to which he clearly considered way more valuable than a bandana, and with a big wide grin on his face, he committed himself to tease the f ox one more time.

"You sly dog..! You really know how to deal with chicks!"

Tails tried to smile, perhaps, in order to find some form of remedy for his own guilt and embarrassment, but it only ended with a quite forced grimace that looked way too evident for his friends.

Never, not even in his younger years, Tails felt such anger, such shame, such impotency. When the night came, the only thing the fox was thankful for was the return to their headquarters. The place, in question, was nothing but a rented house with a quite sizeable garage, located in Metal City. It was discreet, homely, and provided more than enough for their operations, without drawing any undesirable attention. That night, the fox cried on his bed without anyone to comfort him, and with a broken moan, he repeatedly said to himself "What I've done? What I've done?" Untill he fell asleep.

This is all for now, folks.

I promise I won't keep you waiting for too long, next time.

Learning how to manage my time, and furthermore, finding inspiration to keep me writing, hasn't been by any means easy. But I'll let you know that you'll see me more often in AO3 and .

I do want to apologize for what it must seem to you as an arbitrary imposition of breaks in-between my works. I promise that it will all make sense in the course of… Well… I'm really not in liberty to say much else… See ya, in a couple of weeks!


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